Fonteva: Financial reporting

We’re finally here! Last month, we focused on the final piece of the puzzle, receipts and receipt lines. We’ve learned enough about the Fonteva data model to talk about reporting.

Reporting is where the power of the Salesforce Platform with the Fonteva product is realized. In most instances, standard Salesforce reports can display finance data from Fonteva—the key is understanding where you need to look.

Sales orders and receipts (with corresponding line items) all tie back to transactions which are, and transactions are ledger entries in Fonteva. By removing the invoice (and invoice lines) from the data model in Fonteva, reporting will be substantially easier moving forward.

You can still invoice an individual for something and book receivables—that information remains in the sales order object which makes for cleaner reporting. Regardless of your Fonteva version, we recommend that when you run financial reports in Fonteva, to ensure that you use a report type that starts with transactions as the primary object. Doing so will guarantee that ledger entries created in the system are not overlooked.

Salesforce Report Types

You might be asking yourself what a report type is. When you create a new report, the first prompt will be to “Choose a Report Type.” Many people stop right there because they don’t know what a report type is, and if you don’t know what it is, how would you ever choose one? Report types in Salesforce define the objects you will pull data from in your report.

In the screenshot above, you can see how you can use predictive search to filter report types. By typing “trans”, all report types that include objects that start with, or include, the word trans will appear.

Because of the data model issue in older systems, it is our recommendation that you search for transactions (or transaction lines) first. This will allow you to run reports on your transactions (or transaction Lines) and all sorts of related objects.

A useful report type to start working with is called “Transactions with Transaction Lines with Receipt Line”, and you’ll do so to generate a report for all transactions that tie back to incoming payments to your organization.

Next, you can filter on or display any field in any of the three objects in your report.

Filtering in Salesforce Reports

Once you’ve selected the report type, the next step is to set your filters. Filters control the records you return in the report results. Always want to change the “My Records” filter to “All Records.” All objects default to that “My” filter. If you are working with transactions, it will say “My Transactions.” If you are working with receipts, it will say “My Receipts.”

Then, be sure to update the preview panel results to see how your results change as you add or update filters.

As mentioned, you can filter on any field in any of the included objects. Start typing the field’s name in the Filter panel and the system will narrow your choices. Sometimes, the list of fields can be overwhelming, so it is recommended you use that search feature.

In the example above, I am choosing to filter my results based on the account name (organization name) of the entity making the payments. This filter allows you to display a summary of transactions for the month for a particular member or stakeholder. By typing “Account” and the list of fields to filter, the results become more manageable and easier to navigate.

Once you select your field, add your filter criteria. Select your operator, such as equals or contains, and enter the filter value such as a date or text value.

Once you have your filters set, you can click on the outline panel to determine the fields you want to have displayed in your results.

Selecting fields in the outline tool works the same as the filter tool. Start typing the name of the field you want to see in the results, and the list will get smaller, making it easier to select the field you want.

Here is a tip: I often enter “Date” or “Amount” in the field search tool. You will then see every date or amount field that’s available to select.

If you are not sure of the field name, you can always open another tab and look at a sample record (transaction, transaction line, or receipt line in this case.) If you look on the sample record to find the field, the label displayed on the record page is the same value you would search for in field lists in the reporting tool.

Take the time to look as it will save you a lot of frustration in the end.

Access the Entire Fonteva Finance App Series

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In our next blog post, we’ll talk about reconciliation and tips on making it easier to match up Fonteva with your accounting package on a monthly basis. Stay with us!